Kevin Love will miss Game 3 with concussion
CLEVELAND -- Kevin Love, who sustained a concussion in Game 2 of the NBA Finals against Golden State, has not been medically cleared to play and will miss Game 3 against Golden State on Wednesday, a person familiar with the situation told Paste BN Sports.
The person requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly until the decision is made official in a statement from the team or Cavs coach Tyronn Lue.
Love is in the NBA's concussion protocol program and must pass a series of physical exertion tests without showing signs of a concussion. He must be cleared by the team doctor before he can return to play, and the team also consults with the director of the NBA's concussion protocol program.
The Cavs said in a statement that Love "will remain in the NBA concussion protocol under the direct supervision and oversight of team physician Dr. Alfred Cianflocco, Dr. Jeffery Kutcher of the NBA and Cavs head athletic trainer Steve Spiro. His status for Game 4 will be updated at the appropriate time."
Love, who participated in a portion of the morning shootaround on Wednesday, caught an errant elbow from Warriors guard Harrison Barnes late in the second quarter of Game 2. He initially remained in the game before he was entered into the league's concussion protocol early in the third quarter. The Cavs were adamant that Love didn't exhibit any concussion-like symptoms before opting to remove him. Lue didn't speak to reporters at Wednesday's shootaround.
The Cavs have been blown out in the first two games of the NBA Finals by a combined 48 points, though LeBron James vowed the Cavs would be "much better" on both sides of the ball for Game 3. Despite dropping the first two games, James was in a good mood at Wednesday's shootaround, joking with reporters and interrupting Channing Frye's media session.
Frye, who's played just 11 minutes in the first two games, could replace Love in the rotation. Reserve Richard Jefferson spent some time with starters in practice, and Lue could also start center Timofey Mozgov and give the Cavs a bigger lineup.
"When people are like 'Channing, you’re not playing,' but yeah, I’m not playing behind Kevin Love and LeBron and Tristan Thompson, so guys who have been here, done it. I don’t think we’ve changed anything about us. I just think we haven’t played us. I don’t think we’ve been as aggressive, been as physical as we need to be, especially on the defensive end."
Several minutes into Frye's session, James interrupted saying, "Come on, we've got work to do!"
Frye chided James, "They're asking me questions. It's my one shining moment."
ESPN first reported Love will miss Game 3.